


Kisses & Misses: A Zootopia Fanfic

by JudithWilde



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-06 01:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8729875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JudithWilde/pseuds/JudithWilde
Summary: How do you tell your coworker you have feelings for them? How do you get snotty rich kids parents to stop bribing judges? How do you find a new place to stay in less than three weeks? What do you do when you sleep with your best friend? How do you *not* accidentally become Zootopia's new political celebrity? And how do you rewind time so that none of this ever happened??





	1. Fighting and Biting

**Nick's POV**  
It’s a dreary November morning in Zootopia and Nick is forty minutes into his court hearing. “I’m getting punished for doing my job,” he mutters to himself as he strides towards the stand at the front of the courtroom. The walk feels too long and the silence of the room amplifies the echoes of his thumping steps. He avoids Judy’s stare and feels a heat on the back of his neck once he passes her. When he gets to the stand, he is unsure of where to look. The room has a jury, some of his coworkers, the family pressing charges, and large paintings of old judges on the walls. The Judge and others begin speaking and he tries to keep his mind off of the events from the night before, and on the matter at paw. 

“Officer Wilde?” Nick’s ears become alert as he glances up at the Feline Judge. “Do you agree to the oath that our clerk just gave you?” 

“I do,” he states, knowing that he didn’t listen to one word of the oath. He feels Judy’s eyes on him and has an urge to loosen his collar. She’s probably still angry and it just makes the court situation more ridiculous. There are real issues he could be handling instead of this circus disguised as a court case. 

The Yates family’s lawyer stands to address Nick. “Officer Wilde, can you tell us what happened three weeks ago on November 1st?” He rehearsed the retelling all through the week in preparation for this question. Nick nods, repressing the memories of the night before. 

“My partner, Officer Hopps, had been driving when we took a wrong turn. We ended up in this upscale area, Misty Shalls, and we drove past the private school parking lot. That’s when I saw the kid exchanging money with some other kid. I told Officer Hopps to stop so that we could know for sure and he did it again right in front of us with another student. His back was turned to us as we approached and I decided to look at the drugs for myself, so I took them from his paw. Carrot- I mean Officer Hopps asked him what he’d been doing. He told us he was just showing them to his friends and that the pills were prescribed to him. We both knew it was complete bull because they were stored in sandwich bags instead of pill bottles. We told him that he’d have to come with us to the department and that's when he ran. The school’s security guards chased him with us and, once we caught him, he began resisting arrest. He wasn’t in the department for more than twenty minutes before his parents arrived at central booking and then he was out within the hour with bail paid.” 

“And are you aware that the plaintiff had a knee injury that resulted from the arrest?”

“Yes, he tripped over a bike rack while running away.” Nick hears a few suppressed laughs from the jury and watches the teenage Elk’s reddening face. 

The Elk shoots up and points at Nick. “Well it wouldn’t have happened if you never chased after me!” A murmur grows among the mammals in the room.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Nick turns up towards the Judge again. “What are we even doing here? The only one in the wrong here is-” BOOM-BOOM!

The Judge hits the gavel to the sound block, filling the room with a quieting sound. She takes a breath once the room falls silent. “Officer Wilde,” she says, glaring over her glasses “I am to be addressed as your Honor. And Mr. Yates, please stay quietly seated unless you are called up to speak or else you can work community service for the rest of your school year.” She motions for the Yates family’s lawyer to continue. 

“Are you aware that the majority of mammals that have gone through the juvenile justice system have left with emotional issues?” The lawyer asks, pacing across the floor with slow steps.

Nick nods, “Yes. I’ve had friends go through it growing up. The justice system needs a lot of reform.”

“So why,” the mammal pauses for what seems like dramatic effect, “would you risk the emotional health of a minor knowing full well that he could have ended up in that detention center if his caring parents hadn't stepped in?”

A hushed chorus of confusion comes from the jury and Nick fights the urge to bang his head onto the wooden stand. He blinks a few times trying to process the twisted logic that is coming from the mammal’s mouth. “Okay. Lemee get this straight. You wanted me to see a crime being committed and let it happen because he’s underage?”

“Well what do you value more, Mr. Wilde? A child’s safety or some silly rules?” 

“Silly rules? Do you mean the law?” Nick turns his gaze to the family. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be rich? How’d you spend all this money to get stuck with this dumbass?” He motioned towards the quote-unquote lawyer.

“Officer Wilde,” the Judge warns with a look that holds a threat.

Nick takes a long breath, rolls his shoulders, and makes sure to enunciate his words so that they understand. “Okay, so listen. My job title is Law Enforcement. I am paid to uphold the law. If I don’t do that then I’m not doing my job.” Nick makes the mistake of locking eyes with Judy, his words trailing off. She looks down at her paws instantly and his chest tightens as the memories of the morning flood back. Nick doesn’t notice the long silence until it’s broken by the lawyer.

The Yates family’s lawyer clears his throat. “You officers seem to pick and choose whenever you do and don’t want to uphold the law. So why now when you don’t always do it other times?”

"Objection, your Honor, the question is argumentative," Nick’s lawyer announces. Nick switches from looking at Judy, to the Judge, to the family, and then back at Judy again. He taps his claws lightly on the wood and focuses his thoughts to the present.

“Sustained,” the Judge states. Nick notices the teenage Elk’s father cross his arms and raise an eyebrow at the Judge as if he were threatening her. The Judge notices it too and grimaces at him. 

The family’s lawyer smiles calmly. “That is all.” Nick leaves the stand and sits next to his lawyer.

The Judge looks over to the mammals at the left side of the room. “Has the Jury reached a decision?” They whisper their thoughts to the court clerk and he walks over to tell the message to the Judge. The air fills with a building tension as everyone awaits the verdict. Nick begins to turn and see how Judy is doing but he stops himself, not wanting to get distracted again. 

“The Jury has ruled that Officer Wilde, charged with excessive force and maltreatment, is not guilty.” The father Elk’s brow rises again in an impatient expression. “However, due to the nature of this case, I am strongly recommending a paid administrative leave of three months for Officer Wilde. Court is adjourned.” The mallet hits, signaling the end of all debates.

 

**Judy's POV**

Judy sits at a bench outside of the courthouse, feeling the cool air blow lightly over her fur. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The word won’t stop repeating in her head. She could barely comprehend Nick’s trial because he wouldn’t stop looking over at her. All she knows now is that Nick won’t be her partner for a while. The Judge’s decision to put Nick on leave doesn’t make sense but it’s probably for the better. Before the hearing, Judy was ready to pretend she had the flu to avoid Nick for at least a week, but now it isn’t necessary. She’s sitting outside, still trying to focus on anything but this morning. Her paws are having a wrestling match in her lap and a nervous energy fills her when she sees Nick walking towards her. Oh sweet, sweet, sweet cheese and crackers. He sits with her on the bench and they just stay there for a moment, unsure of what to say. “Judy I-”

“I should go.” They both speak at the same time and Nick’s ears fall almost as low as Judy’s. She stands and moves away until she can’t. She looks back and sees that Nick is holding her wrist, causing the past to fly back into her thoughts. 

Flashes of the memories race through her mind of the night before at Nick's apartment. Nick holding her wrists above her head and growling in her ear. Teeth scraping lightly over fur. Their bodies pressed together and-

Judy jerks her wrist away feeling a fire in her cheeks. She stomps away towards the metro station so that they won’t have to drive back to the ZPD together. “I’m so stupid,” she scolds, as she thinks of how many days she put off going to the pharmacy for heat suppressing pills. She wasn't supposed to go into heat for another few weeks, but the lack of medication must have made it randomly occur. 

She hears Nick’s steps following her. “No, you're not. I’m sorry. I should have known about your,” Judy stops walking when his panicked tone reaches her. “Oh, I don’t know. What’s the word- culture, I guess? I didn’t know about it and I just thought you wanted to-”  
Red clouds her vision and she spins to Nick before he finishes speaking. “What, you think I just throw myself at my friends? Like that’s just some meaningless action to me? I wouldn’t do that unless I were in love or in a relationship or.. or something!” She sees Nick flinch at the word “love,” but continues anyway. “Yes, I get it, Nick. Mammals go into heat all the time and hook up and everything. The difference between me and other species is that the feeling is so strong that it physically hurts if you don’t do anything about it. So, yeah, you didn’t know about it. And other mammals don’t know about it. For them it’s just a tiny urge so why wouldn’t they assume that’s how it is for everyone else? I get it. Believe me, I do. That doesn’t mean I’m going to just be okay with what happened.” She speaks so quickly, she isn’t sure if her words are coherent but Nick’s defeated gaze tells her that he understands. Once she sees that Nick has nothing left to say, she leaves Nick alone on the sidewalk.  


***********************************************************************************************************

After work, Judy goes straight home. Her coworkers invited her to a bar but she declined, not wanting to run into Nick. On the metro she remembers all the bad events of the morning as if she’s reliving it.

“Judy. What happened? What did I do?!” Nick asked her as she tried to leave. Judy threw her clothes on and sped away towards the door. _Not like this. Not like this._ It was the only comprehensible thought shooting through her mind as she unlatched the door. Nick tried again “Could you please-” Just as suddenly as she got the door open, Nick’s paw pushed the door closed, blocking her only exit. “Talk to me,” he pleaded. Judy turned around to face him and focused on steadying her breaths.  
“You weren’t supposed to do that. You weren’t supposed to let me…” Nick stared down at her, searching her eyes for the meaning of her words.  
“Let you what?”  
Judy watched the complete bewilderment in his eyes and realized he didn’t know. The waves betrayal she felt moments earlier began to calm, but her anger didn’t. In Bunny Burrow, just like in most bunny areas, there is a social rule about being in heat. It is commonly known there that, unless it was agreed upon by both partners, it isn't right to have sex with a bunny in heat because their reasoning is compromised. The urges can grow very strong and actions can heavily depend on hormone levels. But Judy hadn’t realized that it wasn’t common knowledge. Or maybe she did realize it, but didn’t want to mention it for fear of being too forward. She wasn’t sure. The most they had done before was flirt a little and grip paws during a horror movie which, no, was not a date. Their friendship did have the potential to grow into something more, and some could argue that it already had, but now it’s even more confusing.

At her apartment building, Judy presses on her temples in an attempt to shut out the memories, but Nick's words come through: “Are you trying to seduce me, Carrots?” His smirk faltering a bit when she didn’t deny the question. Then the next day, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know!” The words he yelled after her as she left his apartment in a rush of confusion, anger, and embarrassment. 

Judy trudges down the hall leading to her apartment silently begging her mind to have mercy. Just as she reaches her door, her landlord, Ms. Dharma, walks into the hall.

“Judy.” The older lady’s voice startles her. Judy puts on a cheery, fake smile and addresses the Armadillo.  
“Oh! Hi Ms. Dharma. How are you?”  
Dharma ignores the question. “So, Judy. I’ve been meaning to talk with you about your lease contract. You’re aware that it ends soon, right?”  
Have two years passed already since she first moved in? Time flies. Judy racks her brain to remember the most adult response. “Right. I’m just waiting for the renewal contract. Will there be any changes?” The landlord holds a strange expression that looks half uncomfortable and half annoyed, causing Judy to wonder if she said something wrong.  
“Yes. There won’t actually be a renewal.” Dharma waits for Judy to respond but Judy simply stands there with her mouth wide open. Don’t landlords have to give more notice before kicking their occupants into the street? Judy wonders if any laws can help her with this. “And before you go finding loopholes, I plan on tripling the price of your rent in the new contract if you don’t move out. And that, my dear, is a right that I have as an owner. “  
“But why?” Judy shakes her head, wondering how so many problems can fall on one day.  
Dharma begins to look impatient. “My niece Delilah needs a long-term place to stay and I’m not letting that spoiled girl live with me. You have three weeks to go.” After a half hearted goodbye, Dharma continues down the hall. Once out of earshot, Judy groans and presses her head against the cool wood of her door. “This day can not get any worse.”  
“It probably will.” Judy’s neighbor, Bucky, said through the thin walls.


	2. Time & Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE: Alright listen up mammals. We can do this one or two ways. One is that you wait another month for scheduled weekly updates. The other way is that I'll just update it whenever I get around to it and will be fueled by the amount of feedback this fic gets. So you'll get a faster update but it'll be more sporadic. I really wanted to do the weekly thing but the rate that I'm going at... I wont be able to do that until late January or early February. Tell me what you guys want and I'll just do that.

**Nick’s POV**  
At two weeks into his leave Nick is ready to go back to his job. He isn’t sure what to fill his days with anymore and, as time passes, the three months seem more and more impossible to wait for. He’s been lying on his bed watching ZooTube for about an hour and decides to open his messaging app. His phone has actually been pretty dry ever since the court case, making him wonder what’s keping his coworkers and friends so busy. He thinks about texting the Fluff but decides against it, assuming she wants to be left alone. Nick and Judy used to text everyday, for hours sometimes, but now it’s stopped. The only time she contacted him was when she made him promise not to scam during the leave. His response was, “Oh c’mon. What if I promise to file my taxes this time?” She didn’t laugh and just reasserted her point. That was three days earlier and Judy never called again.  
He looks to his left, remembering what it felt like to have her warm body resting next to his. Her scent already faded from the sheets and, while disappointing, it’s for the best since she seemed to want to forget about the whole incident. If it meant nothing to her then why should it mean anything to him? Still, he would be lying to say that it felt meaningless. When she first kissed him, his only thought was: _This is it. It wasn’t all in my head._ Apparently it was all in his head, though, because she made it crystal clear that they were just friends when she told him off last week. Nick squeezes his eyes shut to chase away the thoughts. He opens the contact for Finnick, hoping to find anything to take his mind off of her.  
NICK: Hey what's up?  
Finnick has always been a slow texter so Nick goes back to watching videos from online. Right after he switches apps, though, his phone buzzes three times with texts from Finnick.  
FINNICK: BRO You gotta come out here it’s insane.  
FINNICK: It’s down the street from you right outside of Henrietta’s Grocery  
FINNICK: Holy shit they called the cops lol. This kid is gonna get it! XD

Nick shrugs, gets up, and puts on a light jacket. “Nothing better to do,” he sighs, striding out of his apartment. Once he steps out onto the cracked and battered sidewalk, a gust of humid air hits him. It was the kind of weather that makes the air smell of musky fur. The climate walls were compensating for the cold winter air and weren’t doing a great job at it. From experience, Nick knows that everything will be stabilized in an hour or so.  
As he walks closer and closer towards the store, Nick begins to feel a buzzing, nervous energy run through him. What if Judy was called over there and she sees him? Should he try to talk to her again or play it cool? Nick comes up with various scenarios for the situation and how he will handle every possibility. He breathes through his mouth as he passes a rather smelly mammal who didn’t prepare for the weather.  
Nick turns the corner and sees a small crowd of mammals, most of whom are Foxes, at the neighborhood grocery store. The grocery store is a part of a long strip of run-down shops, all of them being small businesses. His neighborhood isn’t the nicest but the familiarity keeps him from moving away. He’s greeted by at least ten mammals by the time he reaches the area and it makes him consider being outside more often as a pastime. Everyone is watching one of the ZPD officers arresting a Fox who looks to be in high school. One of his coworkers, Officer Mike Reyes, is patting down the Fox’s clothes, probably as a precautionary measure. As Nick nears the area, he overhears mammals commenting on the scene before them.  
“He got caught stealing.”  
“Why does it have to be a Fox again?”  
“Preds are always causing trouble.”  
Nick ignores the comments and considers asking someone what happened. He scans the area searching for Finnick, and maybe a certain Bunny, but he sees neither of them. The teenage Fox yelps as they put cuffs on him. They must have found whatever was stolen. Nick shakes his head as the Fox begins to squirm and pull away. Officer Reyes tightens his grip, bringing another yelp out of the Fox. Nick moves closer, noticing the rising levels of frustration.  
“OW! GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!” The Fox yells the words in a way that makes Nick’s body tense up. Nick can't hear the conversation between Reyes and his partner but he hopes they’re planning the best way to handle the Fox.  
“C’mon Reyes. Just follow protocol and put him in the car.” Nick speaks the words under his breath, wondering if the Fox is just making a scene or if Reyes is really hurting him. As a wolf, Reyes is larger and stronger, but not so much that he can detain the kid as easily as a Tiger or a Bear could. That’s the problem with being smaller. Arrests are rarely as easy as picking up a mammal if they’re trying to get away. Half a year before, he and Judy had to use a lot of wit to arrest a Panda that didn’t want to be detained, but they did it in the end. It was mostly Judy’s idea that Nick just went along with. She’s amazingly good at her job. Nick’s shoulders sag when he realizes he’s thinking about her again. For a moment he lets himself think about the kiss, the hooking up, and then the confrontation. He was such an idiot for hoping at all.

Nick is shaken out of his thoughts when he hears the familiar clicking noise and sees the muzzle being put on the Fox. The Fox roughly throws his head side to side to evade the muzzle but they get it on with some effort. Just seeing the damned thing reminds Nick of the first time he was met with the harsh realities of the world. Thankfully, after a year and a half of being in the ZPD no one had attempted at biting him, so he never had to use any. Nick doesn’t remember the high school kid trying to bite anyone which is the level of aggression required for a muzzle to be used. He imagines himself in the kid’s place, the muzzle forced on him with his paws locked behind his back, having no way to remove it. His tail straightens automatically as if he were being threatened.

“Reyes!” Nick pushes past a few mammals before jogging towards his coworkers. The Wolf appears startled at first but recognizes Nick.  
“Wilde? What are you doing?” Asks Reyes’s partner, Kennedy.  
Nick doesn’t waste time. “Take it off,” he orders, breathing heavily. “Take off the muzzle.”  
“Excuse me?” Reyes stares in confusion.  
“He didn’t bite you and shows no signs of rabies. There’s no reasonable cause. I saw it myself.” Nick musters up all the authority he can in his voice, though they were at the same ranking level.  
The Wolf narrows his eyes. “I did what I saw fit. This thug is insane. He needs to be muzzled.” Nick can’t allow this to happen. It might be that Reyes refused, or his word choice of “thug,” but Nick itched to take the muzzle off the kid and give Reyes a taste of his own medicine. His jaw stays tense and his eyes burn into Reyes but he holds it together. It’s only a few moments before the partner speaks up.  
“He’s right, Reyes. Just take it off.” Reyes mutters colorful phrases under his breath and moves to do it. The teenage Fox has stopped struggling and stares at Nick, wide-eyed in shock and wonder, as they remove the muzzle and walk him towards the police car. Nick can only hold his composure long enough for them to drive away, and then he lets his shaky reactions loose. He starts to walk, cursing under his breath, for almost losing control. It wasn’t something he’d done since he was a kid, but with everything that happened, it must have all bubbled over into a raging mess. Nick moves into a defensive stance when a hard slap connects with his back.  
“YOO! THAT WAS INSANE!” Finnick stands there, apparently oblivious to Nick’s lack of excitement. Nick shakes his head and begins walking away, not wanting to participate in whatever celebration Finnick was trying to have. The crowd that he had to squeeze and struggle through moments earlier opens up a pathway for him to pass easily. As the senses of his surroundings come back to him, Nick suddenly realizes why Finnick yelled so loudly. The crowd is clapping and cheering. How long were they doing that for? All he knows is that he just wants to go home and sleep for the rest of the day. Finnick follows alongside him and Nick is too tired to object.  
At Nick’s apartment, Finnick takes every chance to retell the altercation from his more dramatic perspective. Nick musters a few smiles but can’t shake off the unusual intensity that overcame him. At least it got his mind off of Judy.

**Judy's POV**

Judy knows she looks ridiculous carrying a large coffee cup that’s almost half the size of her body, and meant for a Size B mammal, but it’s worth the risk of being scalded. Today is the day she’s going to get a case, and if that means sucking up to Bogo, then she’ll do it. The first time she asked, Bogo replied with an outright “no,” and closed the door in her face. The last time she asked, Bogo told her there was nothing available, but the response seemed rehearsed, like he was expecting it. Perhaps the reason was because she asked at least four times beforehand, but it could also be because he was hiding something. After the nighthowler case Bogo never seemed to underestimate her since she was even put on a many more cases over the past two years. Maybe if she could just make Bogo understand that she’s ready to follow the rules he’d stop giving her busy work and speeding patrol. As much as she ignores it, she knows the reason she wants a case so badly is to get her mind off of Nick. Maybe the suspension isn’t as great as Judy thought since his absence only makes her think of him more. She speeds her determined steps, causing the contents of the cup to slosh around threateningly close to the opening.  
“Hey Judy!” Clawhauser greets her as she passes him.  
Judy slows her steps. “Hey Claw. Do you know if the Chief is still in his office?”  
“Yeah I saw him-”Clawhauser stops in realization and smiles widely. “Again? This is the third time this week! When are you gonna give up?”  
Judy shakes her head. “I’ll give up when he let’s me have a case.” Judy continues walking with her eyes glued onto Bogo’s door.  
“Or you could just wait to get on his good side again. He would have suspended most mammals after the ice-cream incident.” Clawhauser says the last words in a teasing, sing-song voice. Judy wishes mammals would stop bringing it up. Almost two months ago, Judy and Nick discovered a secret drug smuggling organization disguised as an ice cream truck company. Right before catching them red-handed, Judy made a mistake that ended with the head of the cartel getting away and her shoulder dislocated. Bogo hasn’t assigned her to a case since, and her cheeks redden under Clawhauser’s teasing. Judy decides not to give Clawhauser more to gossip about and reaches Chief Bogo’s door.

Her paw hovers at the wooden door as she tries to balance the oversized cup in her other paw. Before her paw connects, the door opens suddenly, making Judy almost lose her balance. Bogo’s foot moves forward and her gasp draws his eyes down.  
“Hopps. I’m busy. What is it?”  
Judy feels a bit frazzled from almost being walked into with a huge, steaming cup of coffee in her paws, but she composes herself. “I thought you might like this.”  
Bogo bends down, takes the coffee, and then walks right past Judy. She speed walks to keep up.  
“Um Sir? I just wanted to ask about-”  
“The mysterious cases that you think I’m hiding from you. Yes I know. Believe it or not, Officer Hopps, but we need officers for services besides detective cases. The largest case we have right now is already being handled.”  
“Well what is it?”  
“That’s not your concern. If you had a job would you want me make you share it with every other detective that asks?”  
Judy sighs. “No but-”  
Bogo stops at the entrance to the office area and turns to Judy. “Officer Hopps. Every angle of that case is being analyzed by someone already. ”  
She isn’t ready to accept defeat. “Well there has to be something.”  
“”Don’t push me, Hopps. You’ve already proven your worth here but you need more time handling other duties.” Bogo walks into the hallway, leaving Judy hopeless.

BUZZ BUZZ, Judy jumps, then reaches into her pocket for her phone.  
8034567332:Hey I’m almost at Snarlbucks.  
JUDY: Who’s this?  
8034567332: Whoops! I forgot to tell you that hah. This is Stephanie. You answered my ad about getting a roommate?  
JUDY: Oh! Right hold on...  
JUDY: I’ll just go on my break. I should be at Snarlbucks in 10 mins. See you then! :)  
STEPHANIE (POSSIBLE NEW ROOMMATE): K :)

Judy leaves the ZPD, happy to have something to do besides patrolling or paperwork or begging for a more demanding job. When she first got the news about having to move out, finding a new place seemed like a minor inconvenience, but she was quickly proven wrong. Most places in Zootopia are too expensive or too far from the ZPD. Two places looked promising, but they ended as disasters. One spot was for a Size B mammal ten times the size of Judy. The other place looked like a natural disaster flew around the property and it smelled like someone died in there. Judy grew up in a messy home with all of her siblings but that mess was too much, even by her standards. The experience was enough to convince her that she should save up to buy a house so that she’d never have to go through this again. The best way to do that is to split the costs with roommates until she gets enough money for a down payment. Now, when looking for places, she makes sure the possible roommates are relatively clean and are in their size class.  
Once she reaches for the glass door of Snarlbucks, she recognizes Stephanie, a dark furred Beaver, from the pictures in the ad. Judy walks over with a slight hop in her step. The coffee shop is quaint with honey wood floors and mint green walls which are filled with the low murmur of small mammals socializing at various tables and counters. Judy silently begs for the Beaver not to have bad qualities so that she can have one good thing happen this week.  
“Hi Judy! I’m Stephanie but everyone calls me Steffie” The cheery female slides off of her chair and shakes Judy’s paw. “I got you a latte. I hope you like vanilla bean.”  
“Oh, wow. You didn’t have to do that,” Judy replies awkwardly, sitting in the chair on the opposite side of the table.  
“I know but I just thought I would. Gosh! You’re so pretty! What kind of brush do you use?” Steffie gushes. Her voice reminds Judy of a preppy cheerleader who jumps and squeals at the smallest of victories. Her name and colorful, girly clothes match this observation.  
Judy’s cheeks get hot as they usually do when she is, on the rare occurrence, complimented. “Oh.” She glances down touching the fur at her cheek. “My mother made mine. It’s nothing special but thank you.”  
“Really? That’s so cool! Is that what she does for a living? Make brushes?”  
“No. My parents are carrot farmers. She just makes them for me and my siblings. We usually have to share them but I got my own when I moved out.” Judy smiles and thinks of a compliment to return.  
“I love your dress,” Judy says. Its collar and the bow tied at the waist really does look adorable.  
“Omigosh, really? I made it myself. That’s why I asked about your mom. I love making crafts and clothes and all that.” Judy makes a sound of acknowledgement and they sit quietly for a moment.  
“So!” Steffie begins. “We’re both looking for a roommate.”  
Judy nods and takes a sip of the latte. It’s a bit too sweet for her taste, but tolerable. “Yeah. So what price were you thinking of?”  
“Huh. People don’t usually ask me about the rent price that I want.”  
“Really?” Judy wonders if some rule changed in the past two years about who first decided the price.  
The Beaver giggles. “Hey, If I’m naming the price could I just pay you in hugs and encouraging words?”  
Judy puts her coffee down. “Pay me? Wait, what?”  
“Oh, no. I was just kidding. It was a joke. I just really need a place to stay. I could pay-”  
“You need a place? I thought you were looking for a roommate to live with you?” Judy interrupts, then closes her eyes. “I’m sorry. I think we had a misunderstanding.” Just when she thinks her luck will turn up, it sinks back down.  
“Wait don’t tell me you’re also looking for a room! Shoot. This is the third time this has happened!”  
Steffie sees Judy’s distress and covers her mouth. “Omigosh! Are you ok?” Judy opens her eyes and lets out her frustration in a long breath.  
“I just- I need to move within the next week and a half and I didn’t realize how difficult it would be.” Judy drags her paw down her face and holds back an irritated groan.  
The look of horror on the Beavers face reminds Judy that it really was an honest mistake, and she calms slightly. Steffie stutters out her words and puts her baby blue purse on. “I’m so sorry! I- I’ll just go. I’m sorry for wasting your time, Judy!”  
Before Steffie escapes, Judy speaks. “This is just a suggestion but maybe you should make your ad a bit clearer.” With a brief nod, and another apology, the Beaver leaves the shop. “What am I going to do?” Judy asks herself.


End file.
